Sprayed a roof on an old Rivarossi passenger car and got black paint on the clear
plastic windows (which are attached to the roof) Taped it off the first time but went back for a quick overspray without the tape on. Then did a stupid thing by taking Brush Cleaner to wipe off the paint and SMEARED the clear plastic.
Anyone know how I can get the window (plastic ) back to clear? Any help is appreciated,
Thanks, Dave
90% Alcohol works if done before what you did, I’ve been there too.
I use .040” clear Styrene sheet stock for my windows after dinging the old windows. It cuts easier then Acrylic and looks better than thin plastic.
I’ve tried everything under the Sun to repair that kind of damage and its useless.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
The only thing I can think of that MIGHT work if you can get the clear plastic out of the shell, buff it with one of those flannel buff pads on a dremel (or maybe sand with something like 1600 grit) then coat it with Future floor finish. I’ve been able to hide scratches in clear plastic like that, but if you melted into the plastic you might be sunk. Good Luck!
If the plastic itself, and not just the overspray, was smeared, I know of no way to restore it. If it were mine, I’d simply cut out the affected area (lining it up to properly match window spacing on the car), then replace that area with clear sheet styrene (available from Evergreen in various thicknesses), cemented permanently to the interior of the car’s side. As long as a couple of the tabs which hold the roof in place remain, this alteration should be undetectable when the car is on the layout.
For Rivarossi cars that I modify, I alter…
…or remove the window material as necessary…
Wayne
Thanks to all of you that responded.
I did not think there was a way to restore it and I figured I would just have to replace it with a new piece of plastic where it is smeared.
As DoctorWayne wrote, I will cut out the section that got smeared, leaving the end tabs in place so it holds the roof down and replace it with a clear plastic that looks similiar to the existing window side. Right now it looks like the pasengers on that side are either smoking heavy or breathing too hard as it appears very foggy!!!
Thanks again. The forum always helps!!
Dave
Dave—
Out of curiosity, what car is it?
Regards, Ed
There are kits for restoring clear plactic. They use very fine grades of sandpaper and polishing creams. Very tedious. I bought a set years ago at Micro-Mark, but never used it.
Your best chance is probably Future. Unfortunately Future is no longer sold under that name. The last I heard the product was sold under the Pledge lable in the US, but there are several varieties of Pledge, and most of them don’t work.
One of the sites on the KitMaker network might have the solution to your problem.
Keep in mind decorated versions of the old AHM/Rivarossi cars can usually be found at train shows / RR flea markets for around $10 or so. Might just be easier to pick one up that has a black roof you can use on your car.
Try the plastic headlight restore kits
Try Pledge Floor Care “FINISH”. It comes in a clear plastic bottle (Walmart has it in the Grocery section), and it looks like water. It will make frosted, lightly scratched windows look brand new, in many cases, better than they did when new! Edit: I found this out from the model car and airplane people. It’s common practice for them to litterally DIP brand-new canopies and windshields in this stuff before putting them on a model because it looks more “real” than it did before! It illiminates the usual abraison over time from handling, and you can even lightly sand scratches and cover it with this, and PRESTO…oh, and it stays smooth, don’t be shy, it’s “self-leveling”…
I was going to recommend the headlight restoring products as well. They make plastic headlights look like new again.
The “Pledge” works well on headlights too. No rubbing! Remember, it’s a hard, accryllic clearcoat made for floors. Very durable, very CLEAR…